Just Before
by gazing-at-blue-skies
Summary: A tiny glimpse into Alex's home life, the morning she gets shot. An utter drabble just trying to build on the mother daughter relationship. Some script prompt used from Episode One


**A complete and utter off topic drabble about the morning that Alex was shot by Arthur. **

**A tiny glimpse into Alex's home life with Molly. **

**Yes it is un-beta'd (sorry Kimmi) so all mistakes are my own. Unless Kimmi screams at me for making so many glaring ones and then I shall take it back down and let her edit it before beating me with a rolled up newspaper.**

**Reviews and Criticism are love... sort of.**

* * *

"Happy Birthday Molly."

"Morning Mum… thanks."

Alex glanced over her shoulder at her daughter who had just shuffled into the kitchen, dressed in her pjs, her feet clad in her favourite lilac slipper socks and her dressing gwon wrapped tightly round her. Molly plonked herself unceremoniously onto a kitchen chair and rested her chin on the table, yawning loudly. When Alex turned to check on her she found her daughter was studying the pile of presents and cards on the table with eager eyes.

"What do you want for breakfast then Mols?"

Molly turned to look at her Mum, her long brown hair falling in her eyes before being tucked back behind her ears. She yawned loudly, blinking before fighting the urge to yawn again.

"Molly!" Alex barely covered a yawn herself. "What have I told you about covering your mouth when you yawn!" Alex reprimanded but her voice was light and playful.

Molly simply rolled her eyes and covered her mouth, mumbling something as she did so.

"Hmmm?" Alex raised an eyebrow her back now turned to her daughter as she poured herself a large cup of tea.

"I said… can I have waffles for breakfast?" Molly pleaded; her bottom lip stuck out in a firm and resolute pout.

"Well seeing as it's your birthday…" Alex turned to face her daughter, leaning back against the kitchen counter, a smile playing at her lips. Alex sipped the tea which was still too hot to drink quickly.

"Am I going to have enough time to open some presents Mum?" Molly looked hopeful.

Alex glanced at her watch; they had about an hour and a half before she needed to get Molly to school and she had to be at work. Normally Evan took Molly to school but as it was her birthday Alex was adamant that she did, so Evan had insisted on popping round this morning to give Molly her present. Despite Alex insisting that her daughter could wait until later that evening when they went out for dinner.

"Well I suppose one or two now won't do any harm will it?" Setting her mug down by the kettle so that it could cool, Alex then rummaged in the cupboard searching for the waffles she had bought the other day for her daughter. Normally she would have bought them fresh but Molly's birthday had fallen on a Monday and her daughter had school and she had work.

It was a tradition that had started before Molly had even been born. The now ex-Mr Drake and Alex used to indulge one another on their birthdays by picking the one special breakfast that they liked the most. Alex normally went for a continental style breakfast with croissants, brioche, expensive jams and honeys all served to her on a tray in bed. Molly on the other hand had gotten a taste for waffles and now every birthday she had her two waffles with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sprinkles and strawberries.

Whilst breakfast was being devoured by Molly Alex picked out the presents for her daughter to open. She pushed over a smaller box to Molly with an oversized birthday card, the kind that Molly always raved on about wanting. The birthday card was pulled open first to reveal an oversized me to you teddy card, Molly beamed at her Mum before placing the card on the table beside her.

Taking the present, Molly ripped open the paper and revealed a jewellery box, opening it Molly gasped in pleasure as she took out the silver necklace with a locket. She held it up to admire it closely, it was plain on one side and the other had M.C.D engraved on the other.

"I had one just like that when I was your age Molly." Alex watched her daughter as she studied her gift.

"Oh Mum its gorgeous!" Molly smiled at her Mum before putting the necklace back in its box.

"It's engraved as well… you can put pictures in it if you want."

Molly got up from her seat and threw her arms around her Mums neck, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks Mum its lovely... pity I can't wear it to school."

"You know the rules at your school young lady. I've already had to come in and speak to your teacher once about you wearing jewellery Molly." Alex raised an eyebrow at her daughter, but it was too hard to stay angry at her for long.

"I know." Molly huffed, but Alex was pleased that her little girl wanted to wear the gift she had bought her so much.

"You'll get the rest of your presents later on, along with the rest of my gift sweetheart. But right now miss you've got to get ready for school… anyway Evan will be here soon."

Molly had trudged back upstairs, instructed to have a shower and get changed before Evan arrived; Alex could hear her daughter's radio blasting away in her bedroom.

It was Alex's first sort of day off in ages; she had managed to wing it with her boss so that she could get home early to pick Molly up from school and spend some quality time with her daughter on her birthday. There was a knock on the door and before Alex could even get up, Molly had flown down the stairs and pulled the door open.

"EVAN!" Molly threw herself at Evan who hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

"Happy Birthday!" Evan stepped in through the door into the hall almost dragged by Molly who was a bundle of energy.

"Do you want some waffles Evan? Mum got my a necklace for my birthday! Did you want to see it? Are you coming out for my birthday meal tonight?" Molly barely took a breath as she reeled of her questions.

"Someone's entergetic this morning!" Evan chuckled placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair. Molly rolled her eyes in distaste as she smoothed her hair again. "I'd love to have waffles scrap but I have a meeting this morning, but how about I come with your Mum to pick you up from school?" Evan glanced up at Alex to see if she was alright with his suggestion, she nodded and smiled before retreating back into the kitchen to pour the dregs of her mug of tea away.

"Here's your present anyway trouble." Evan handed Molly a professionally wrapped present, with a large bow. Evan had never been any good in wrapping presents and always went to a large department store to get it all done for him… even at Christmas.

"Thanks!"

"Mols go and finish getting ready we've got to go soon!" Alex called from the kitchen, the counds of cutlery and plates being moved about muffled her voice.

"Alright!" Molly bounded back up the stairs, her feet thudding loudly on the landing.

Evan wandered into the kitchen and leant in the door frame watching Alex who was loading the dishwasher.

"Thanks Evan I really appreciate it."

"I'd do anything for you or Molly Alex and you know that. Anyway I wouldn't miss her birthday for the world! How are you anyway?"

Alex turned to look at her Godfather and smiled.

"Alright thanks. It should be a quiet one at work today seeing as we managed to finish up two cases last week. Mostly paper work today I reckon which isn't a bad thing."

Evan nodded studying the young woman who had once been his ward. He loved Alex liked a daughter and it had broken his heart when she had lost both of her parents so tragically, but now she had Molly and a career and Evan couldn't be happier for them both… just it was a same that Molly's father was such as waste of space.

"Right. Well I had best get on. Shall I meet you at work later?"

"Yes thanks."

"Shall I pick up a cake too?" Evan smiled to himself knowing that Alex sometimes had a tendency to forget the little details, her mind caught up on other things until it was too late.

"Yes! I can't believe I nearly forgot! Thanks Evan really I appreciate it… how about something really chocolately and naughty… something that epitomises everything I have told and encouraged Molly not to eat." Alex smiled at Evan before picking up the pile of case files off of the kitchen counter.

"Still working on that file then Alex?"

"Yeah… this Tyler… well lets just say it makes an interesting read."

They walked to the front door together, Alex stood at the bottom of the stairs and called up to Molly.

"Come on Mols! We've got to get a move on babe!"

"I'm off scrap! I'll see you later!"

"Coming!!" Molly appeared a few moments later, peering over the top of the banisters dressed in her school uniform though her long hair was still loose, "See you later Evan and thank you for my present."

Evan headed out the house and down to his car, a few minutes later Alex and Molly were out the front door and into their car.

"I reckon the traffic might be good today Molly!"

* * *

They drove through the maze of London; a city of glass spires, chrome facades and winking lights. It was a place of incessant noise and often isolation. London was the pinnacle of 2008 in all of its glory.

Molly had a hold of one of the files off of the back seat of the car, she was reading allowed as they drove to her school.

"'My name is Sam Tyler. I had an accident and I woke up in 1973. Was I mad? In a coma? Back in time? Whatever had happened, it was like I'd landed on a different planet. If I could figure out why I was here then maybe I could get home...' Yeah, whatever. That is so lame."

"Return the classified document, thank you ... What did Evan get you? Molly ...?" her tone of voice was only half serious as she attempted to get the sat-nav Evan had bought her to work. Now if only she had read the instruction manual…

"A Blackberry." Molly watched the car infront thinking about who at school might bring her a card and a gift in.

"I'll get you some more while you're at school and you can make a birthday crumble." Alex smiled, glancing at her daughter who rolled her eyes dramatically before giggling softly.

"Mum... what we were talking about, I will look after it and..." Alex raised an eyebrow knowing exactly what her daughter was going on about.

"And feed it crackers every day? That's what parrots eat love, 'Polly want a cracker?'" Alex teased Molly, she had given up on fighting with the sat-nav now.

Molly laughed, playfully punching her mother's seat.

"Did your dad ...?" Alex briefly glanced at Molly, noting the flash of hurt across her daughters face at the mention of her Dad.

"No. He's in Canada with Judy," Molly looked out the window, watching the buildings pass by slowly. "So this guy, Taylor..."

Alex immediately could tell her daughter didn't want to talk about her useless father anymore. She sighed, it was tough seeing as Alex wasn't even able to call him up herself and rant in his ear about what a crap father he was. He always seemed to miss a birthday or Christmas present each year. Alex would be more than willing to call her ex-husbands solicitor this afternoon and inform him that if her ex wanted to continue to have contact with his daughter, she would advise him to remember that her twelfth birthday had now passed and he had once again failed to send her anything.

"Tyler. He died April last year." Alex watched the cyclist in her wing mirror, he looked like her was about to place his hand on the side of her car to steady himself. Not that she would mind but she really didn't want him hanging on for a free ride. The cyclist moved his hand away.

"Schizo? Delusional? What's the German one..?" Molly watched her mothers face, peering back for a moment at the files on the back seat.

"He was a decent man and he was a good copper..."

No good to you then. We know how you like them," Molly pulled a face at the moment trying to suggestion her mother liked her subjects to be insane. "Is he going in THE BOOK?"

Alex tried not to laugh at the sight of her daughter pulling ridiculous faces.

"DCI Tyler's getting a book to himself…"

The radio crackled loudly into life and a voice soon spoke.

"_Charlie 75. Ma'am? South Bank, outside Tate Modern. Gunman has taken female hostage. Trojan units are assigned.."_

"Shit! Molly, pass me the thing..."

Alex tried to reach for the siren in Molly's foot-well whilst also trying to not knock down the cyclist along side her and smash into the car in front.

"I'll do it..." Molly reached forward, excited by the prospect of getting to go on the lights and to a job on her birthday! Now she had a great excuse for why she was late, unlike the usual excuses of heavy traffic, or missed the bus or something lame like that!!

"Give it to me..." Alex went to take it from her daughter and switch it on but as soon as the button was switched Molly had clamped it to the roof of the car. Molly twisted herself round in her seat to face the right way, her face alight with joy and a big grin settled on her lips. Alex on the other hand was concentrating as she put her foot down, the siren wailing.

The case file slid across on the back seat due to the sudden movement of the car but that was long forgotten as Alex went into work mode.


End file.
